Hairdryers

ABSTRACT

A hairdryer for hairdressing salons and domestic use includes means for branching off a current of air generated by a turbine inside a hood towards a cold air exchanger, wherefrom the current of air is conducted to a cooler, thus condensing the main part of the moisture of the air. The air then passes through a hygroscopic filter to a pre-heating chamber from which, through resistances, it is again passed to the turbine.

United States Patent 1191 Gali Mallofre [451 May 27, 1975 HAIRDRYERS [76] Inventor: Salvador Gali Mallofre, Calle Londres 29-l-2, Barcelona,

Spain [22] Filed: Apr. 22, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 463,174

[52] US. Cl 34/100; 34/77 [51] Int. Cl A45d 20/24 [58] Field of Search 34/72, 73, 77, 78, 99,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,314,101 3 1943 Phipps 34/100 2,335,553 11/1943 Valverde 34/100 10/1950 Lawrence 34/100 l/l956 Giuffre 34/l00 1/1968 Collins 34/100 Primary ExaminerKenneth W. Sprague Assistant Examiner.lames C.. Yeung Attorney, Agent, or FirmWernderoth, Lind & Ponack [57] ABSTRACT A hairdryer for hairdressing salons and domestic use includes means for branching off a current of air generated by a turbine inside a hood towards a cold air exchanger, wherefrom the current of air is conducted to a cooler, thus condensing the main part of the moisture of the air. The air then passes through a hygroscopic filter to a pre-heating chamber from which, through resistances, it is again passed to the turbine.

3 Claims, 1 Drawing Figure HAIRDRYERS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a dryer for a hairdressing salon wherein drying of the hair is not only carried out by the means heretofore used, i.e. forced circulation of hot air which, adequately conducted from the hood of the dryer, acts on the hair and between it, but which is also provided with the necessary means for the continuous drying of the air utilized for such purpose, and therefrom the moisture proportioned thereto by the hair.

The purpose thereof is to make the hair drying opcration less tedious, thus permitting slightly lower air temperatures, avoiding therewith suffocations and burns, and reducing the drying time to a fraction of that previously necessary.

Besides the advantages of comfort which this will represent for the clients of the hairdressing salon, the drying capacity of each apparatus of the invention will, due to its great drying speed be equivalent to two or more of those heretofore used, with the consequent ad vantages of occupying less space.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The system utilized for drying the air used in the dryer involves the branching off, at a suitable spot of the hood, a certain volume of the mentioned air. This air is conducted, through the interior of a passage con templated for such purpose, to a heat exchange unit where, firstly due to its contact with the pipes wherein cold air flows in a eountercurrent direction and secondly due to its contact with a cooling coil, its temperature is reduced until it reaches a suitable temperature, cg. about 0C, in a compartment suitable to facilitate condensation of the main part of its moisture. Thus, the moisture remaining in the air is reduced to only the steam content which is not condensablc at this low temperature.

This same air is then conducted through a secondary circuit of the heat exchange unit, in a eountercurrent direction to the air which flows through the first circuit and comes from the hood of the dryer, whereby, due to heat transmission through the walls of the passages, the air is heated at the expense of this latter which is, in

turn, cooled.

Another important feature of this dryer is the possibility of suprcssing, in the interior of the hood, the circulation of air coming from the external atmosphere thereof, since the cold air coming from the cooling unit can be used, firstly, to Cool the electric motor of the ventilator or turbine of the drying hood, and subse quently, after being duly heated by the electrical resis tance provided for such purpose within the hood and after being circulated within the hood by the ventilator or turbine. to carry out its main task ofdrying the hair. Thereafter, the air is again removed from the hood to follow the mentioned passage in the direction of the cooling unit where, due to condensation, the moisture withdrawn from the hair is again removed from the air.

To supply the necessary cooling energy to the air drying or moisture condensing cooler. an assembly of elements, which are already known in the cooling and climatological techniques, will be used. Such elements mainly comprise a compressing unit, a condensing unit and an evaporating or cooling unit, as well as the necessary elements. such as capillary tubes, thermostatic or pressurcstatic valves, electrical pressurestats or thermostats or other elements necessary for the control of the assembly.

Any cooling unit of the type known as absorption" can also be used for such purpose.

To reinforce the drying effect of the air. a cartridge having a physico-chemical action loaded with a hygroscopic product, such as for example a silica gel, cal cium chloride, calcium anhydridc or other similar product, can be placed in the return passage downstream of the cooler. Thus, due to the circulation of the air within such cartridge and due to its close contact with the granules contained therein, an additional drying of the air, which is the maximum yield of the assembly, will be obtained.

This dryer can be adapted to the three commonly used versions, i.e. a self-supporting dryer, a dryer fixed to a wall or a dryer fixed to a chair.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Since it is the most commonly used, the attached drawing, which is not limiting, schematically illustrates an example of a dryer fixed to a chair in accordance with the invention.

So as not to complicate the drawing unnecessarily, the representation of the corresponding heat insulations in the walls requiring the same, has been omitted.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION With reference to this drawing, the arrangement of the parts contemplated by the proposed improvements and the way in which they act as a dryer, constructed according to said improvements, will now be described.

As can be seen, the hood 1 of the dryer has two pipes or tubes 16 and 17 which are connected thereto at suitable points. Such pipes are associated extensibly (for example through telescopic arrangements 5) with a cooling group where the air coming from hood 1, through one of the pipes 16, is subjected to a condensation treatment due to the moisture contained therein, and is heated to a specific temperature before returning to the hood by means of the other pipe To such effect, pipe 16, through which a determined volume of the current of air generated in the hood 1 is branched off, opens up into a vertical chamber 18. Close to the lower end of such chamber the evaporat ing coil 13 of the cooling group, which is conventional to all effects, is arranged. (The compressor I0, the condenser 15 and the reducing valve 14 of such group, as well as the ventilator 7 0f the condenser and the motor 8 which activates this ventilator, have been represented for the sole purpose of clarifying the invention). The bottom 11 of vertical chamber 18 has a water egress associated with a trough 12, or the like, and has a branch which originates from a point situated between the evaporator and the bottom collector and which is directed towards a drying cartridge 9. From such cartridge a new pipe originates. Such pipe passes. firstly, through the inside of the evaporating coil 13, and it then branches off into a plurality of pipes 6 which longitudinally traverse a large extent of the vertical chanr ber 18 and finally communicates with return passage 17 towards the hood.

The Zone of chamber 18 which is traversed by the branches 6 has therein a plurality of deflecting screens or baffles I9 which force the air coming from hood 1 3 to enclose pipes 6 for a relatively long period of time in a labyrinth passage.

With this organization the hot air filled with moisture which leaves the hood 1 through the pipe 16, is firstly forced to give off a part of its heat to the air which circulates in the opposite direction through the inside of branched pipes 6, and is then cooled definitively in the lower part of chamber 18, when it enters under the influence of evaporator 13. The moisture. which is contained in such air is then condensed and falls to the bottom 11 and is collected in receiver 12.

Once cooled and almost without moisture the air is directed towards the drying cartridge 9, the composition of which has already been explained at the beginning of this specification, to be subsequently returned towards the hood.

It will be seen, however, that since this return is effected through the branched pipes 6, which are surrounded for a relatively long period of time with hot air coming from hood 1, the returned air will be slightly heated before reaching its working area. This heating should be sufficiently small so as to permit this air to be used in the cooling of motor 2 which activates the turbine, but not so small that its further heating, before its use on the hair, will be difficult to effect on the basis of the normal resistance heaters, such as those referenced 3 in the drawing.

It is not considered necessary to extend this description, since any person skilled in the art will perfectly understand the idea of the invention as well as the advantages derived from its industrial exploitation.

I claim:

1. In a hairdryer of the type comprising a hood; a conventional cooling unit including drying means comprising an evaporator; a first passage from said hood to said drying means; a second passage from said drying means to said hood; blower means including a motor located in said hood for forcing moist air from said hood through said first passage to said drying means to cool and remove the moisture from said moist air and to thus form dry air, and for forcing said dry air through said second passage back to said hood; and heating means for heating said dry air; the improvement wherein:

a portion of said first passage. upstream of said drying means, and a portion of saidsecond passage. down stream of said drying means, comprise heat exchange means between said moist air and said dry air for precooling said moist air and for preheating said dry air to a temperature capable of cooling said blower motor; and wherein said heating means is positioned to heat said dry air after cooling contact thereof with said blower motor.

2. The improvement claimed in claim I, wherein said portion of said second passage included in said heat exchange means comprises a plurality of pipes extending through and surrounded by said portion of said first passage included in said heat exchange means.

3. The improvement claimed in claim 2, further comprising baffle means positioned in said portion of said first passage for forming a labyrinth-like passage for said moist air around said plurality of pipes.

l l l l 

1. In a hairdryer of the type comprising a hood; a conventional cooling unit including drying means comprising an evaporator; a first passage from said hood to said drying means; a second passage from said drying means to said hood; blower means including a motor located in said hood for forcing moist air from said hood through said first passage to said drying means to cool and remove the moisture from said moist air and to thus form dry air, and for forcing said dry air through said second passage back to said hood; and heating means for heating said dry air; the improvement wherein: a portion of said first passage, upstream of said drying means, and a portion of said second passage, downstream of said drying means, comprise heat exchange means between said moist air and said dry air for precooling said moist air and for preheating said dry air to a temperature capable of cooling said blower motor; and wherein said heating means is positioned to heat said dry air after cooling contact thereof with said blower motor.
 2. The improvement claimed in claim 1, wherein said portion of said second passage included in said heat exchange means comprises a plurality of pipes extending through and surrounded by said portion of said first passage included in said heat exchange means.
 3. The improvement claimed in claim 2, further comprising baffle means positioned in said portion of said first passage for forming a labyrinth-like passage for said moist air around said plurality of pipes. 